Bisexuality and (Inter)National Research Frontiers

There was BiReCon, the UK bisexuality research & academia conference. Then there was BiReConUSA, its American sister conference. And this summer will see the first European Bisexual Research Conference – EuroBiReCon.

It’s a conference for anyone with an interest in contributing to, or finding out about, current work on bisexuality. The aim is to bring together academics, professionals, activists, and bisexual communities. It will take place on Thursday 28 July 2016 at the University of Amsterdam, to be followed by a three day community organised EuroBiCon.

Prof. Surya Monro (University of Huddersfield) will be the first keynote speaker. She has written books on sexual diversity including Gender Politics: Activism, Citizenship and Sexual Diversity (2005) and Sexuality, Equality and Diversity (2012 with Diana Richardson). Her book Bisexuality: Identities, Politics, and Theories was published in the summer of 2015 and formally launched in Manchester earlier this year.

Second keynote is Dr Alex Iantaffi (University of Minnesota). Alex is, amongst others, editor-in-chief of Sexual and Relationship Therapy and has written multiple articles on bisexual identities, sexual-explicit media use of MSM and bisexuals and (white) privilege.

The conference has encouraged people to present research papers from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines including social sciences, health sciences, arts and humanities, therapeutic practitioners, activists and others.

During the day there will be opportunities to:
• Find out about issues affecting bisexual people
• Hear from experts about cutting-edge research on bisexuality
• Discuss ways in which organisations can better work with, and for, bisexual people, drawing on good practice
• Take part in workshops on specific issues

EuroBiReCon aims to include papers and workshop sessions around themes like:
• Bisexuality, wellbeing and health (including mental health and sexual health).• The implications of bisexual identities and labels.• Bisexuality, space and communities.• Bisexual people’s access to, and experiences of,health and other services.• Inclusion and erasure of bisexual people in politics and activism.• Representations of bisexuality in media, culture, and literature.• Intersections with other aspects of experience such as physical disability, age, race/ethnicity, nationality, gender (both trans- and cis-gender), sexual practices, religion, education and social class.• Bisexuality and relationship styles (e.g. monogamies, polyamory, swinging, open couples and non-monogamies).• The role of technologies in bisexuality and forming bisexual spaces and communities• Methods for researching bisexuality• Public engagement in bisexuality research.
Language: For logistical reasons, the conference’s common language will be English, and abstracts must be submitted in English. If you wish, you can send us your abstract in another language, provided that you also submit it in English. It is highly recommended that presentations during the conference are in English. However, we are exploring possibilities to use translators to provide space to people who would like to present in their mother tongue.
Funding: EuroBiCon and EuroBiReCon are community organisations so unfortunately there are no funds for presenters or travel expenses. However, EuroBiReCon will provide an excellent opportunity to network with others working in the field, to share good practice, and there will be spaces available to conduct research which fits within the ethos of the event.